Apple

Almost half of European smartphones bear Samsung label

Ed Sutherland ∙ July 1, 2013

We've known Samsung is the leading Android brand, but now comes word handsets from the South Korean firm account for almost half of the smartphones sold in Europe, where handsets are typically sold separate of wireless contracts. Even more striking, Samsung boosted Google's mobile operating system to the point it where seven out of each ten smartphones are Android-based in Europe, according to new research.

Of course, this isn't surprising knowing Android serves a multitude of price points and form factors whereas Apple is content (for now) milking the high-end. So, where's Apple? Although European market share for the iPhone maker's iOS is a distant second-place to Android, loyalty to the Apple brand outshines Samsung, the Monday report found...

Renewing and non-renewing subscriptions for Mac App Store apps coming this Fall

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 1, 2013

Apple with the iOS 5 release on September 19, 2012 brought in-app subscriptions to its mobile operating system. The feature was originally conceived to allow for the creation of subscription-based digital magazines and newspapers sold on the iOS Newsstand, along with enabling app-managed content offered on a subscription-basis. And now, subscriptions will be definitely coming to Mac apps carried on the Mac App Store when OS X Mavericks is released this Fall...

Apple apparently paid no UK corporate taxes on $103 million profit in 2012

Ed Sutherland ∙ July 1, 2013

Apple's clever accounting practices are again under scrutiny after the iPhone maker paid no UK corporate taxes in 2012, despite three units of the California firm making more than $100 million, according to a British financial newspaper Monday. According to the Financial Times, Apple used tax-deductible employee share awards (essentially stock dividends) to "wipe out the corporate tax liabilities of the UK subsidiaries" during 2012 up to September...

Apple allegedly in talks to launch iPhone 5S with LTE Advanced in South Korea

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 1, 2013

T-Mobile USA may be planning to leapfrog its rivals by becoming the first U.S. wireless carrier to offer up to three times faster LTE Advanced cellular radio technology, but over in South Korea the SK Telecom carrier already announced last Wednesday it's become the world's first telco to launch LTE Advanced network.

As you could imagine, Samsung Electronics CEO J.K. Shin wasted no time confirming his company will launch an LTE Advanced version of its flagship Galaxy S4 smartphone, thanks to Qualcomm's Snapdragon 800 chip. And now, SK Telecom is understood to be in talks with Tim Cook & Co. over offering an LTE Advanced variant of Apple's upcoming iPhone 5S handset...

Investigators raid Apple France offices over unfair business practice

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 1, 2013

Apple's woes with French authorities persist with news that the country's watchdog has conducted a thorough raid of the company's offices over accusations of unfair business practices. According to local news reports, French watchdog is investigating claims that Apple has screwed the country's major wholesalers and distributors by offering better deals with its own retail stores.

This isn't actually terribly surprising given some third-party retailers have been complaining for years that Apple has been discriminating them. However, this is the first time a major antitrust organization is investigating the company over the assumed business practice...

Alleged iPad 5 schematics picture iPad mini-like design

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 1, 2013

A French blog which earned a reputation of posting images of geniunie-looking Apple product parts is back at it again, posting this morning a set of purported design schematics claimed to be for Apple's fifth-generation iPad.

Matching up a number of past reports, these alleged photographs suggest the iPad 5 indeed has adopted a form factor very similar to the current iPad mini model...

Rumor: Foxconn has started shipping budget iPhone for Fall release

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 1, 2013

Leaks and sketchy pieces of information concerning Apple's rumored less expensive iPhone continue to trickle in. This past Saturday, for example, a credible blog has brought us images of a purported budget iPhone rear panel, a solid indication that Apple might be well beyond the research phase for the alleged product.

Today, a Chinese tech blog writes that Apple's favorite manufacturer Foxconn has started shipping first units as Apple shoots for a Fall release...

Apple moves to trademark ‘iWatch’ in Japan

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 1, 2013

If you needed proof that Apple is actively researching a wearable device akin to a smartwatch, look no further than a Japan Patent Office filing from early June for an ‘iWatch’ trademark. As discovered by Bloomberg, the filing specifically mentions a “watch device” and a “handheld computer”. While this by no means such a product will see the light of day, it certainly fuels speculation that an Apple-branded smartwatch is in the works...

New FIPS 140-2 level 2 certification could spur government adoption of iOS

Cody Lee ∙ June 30, 2013

As BlackBerry continues on its downward spiral, more and more of its government clients are jumping ship. And it's no secret that pretty much every other handset manufacturer out there is looking to lure the RIM refugees into their respective mobile platforms.

At least it seems that Apple is working hard to earn their business. Just a few months after receiving Level 1 FIPS 140-2 certification—a security standard developed by the US government for use in its computers, comes word that it's gained Level 2 compliance...

Apple trademarks new green FaceTime logo

Cody Lee ∙ June 30, 2013

Here we are, nearly 3 weeks after Apple took the wraps off of iOS 7, and folks are still talking about the drastic redesign. The overall consensus seems to be that most people like it, but many are hoping that Apple will do some serious fine-tuning before its public release this fall.

In fact, rumor has it that the software isn't nearly as far along as previous versions have been in their initial betas. So even the folks that are unhappy with iOS 7's current state are optimistic that it will see big changes. But if this new trademark filing is any indication, it won't...

Happy anniversary, iPhone!

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 29, 2013

On this day six years ago, the original iPhone went on sale at Apple and AT&T stores in the United States - following six months of unbelievable hype and media frenzy that I suspect won't repeat anytime soon. It's somewhat hard to grasp that it's been six years already and that the original Jesus phone, as the media nicknamed it, was so rapidly obsoleted by subsequent models that it's now become a piece of history itself.

A lot has changed since June 29, 2007. The iPhone back then didn't have the App Store and was pitched as three devices in one: a "widescreen iPod with touch controls," a "revolutionary mobile phone" and a "breakthrough Internet communicator".

Today, it's anything you want it to be thanks to smart developers who pour their heart and soul into their apps, and there are now 900,000+ of them in the App Store. It's fair to say there's a world of difference between 2007 and 2013 in terms of mobile technology, here's why...

It takes 72,000 downloads a day for an app to reach top 10 spot in the App Store

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 12, 2018

You have a whiz-bang idea for an iOS app, but want to know how much effort it will take to get into the top 10 list? On general, it requires 4,000 daily downloads for an app to reach the top 10 paid apps, and it requires earning $47,000 per day for paid apps to reach rank 10 in the grossing charts, a new study finds. For the bean-counters in the audience, that translates to $32 in purchases per minute or $1,920 per hour.

Another tip: never try to break into the top 10 during weekends. Instead, you'll have better luck on Thursdays. If you want little competition, try Google or Amazon, where all you hear are crickets chirping, according to an app analytics firm...